Breeding Ground Part 11

Alex turned to her crew and grinned. They merely frowned.

Gentle-minded, indeed. Fija might as well have referred to men as pathetic, weak vessels possessing no intelligence whatsoever.

She looked back to the Amazon and nodded. "Yes. Let's go talk." And then she threw out over her shoulder as they strolled into a nearby cavern, "far away from the ears of the gentle-minded."

The sound of her crew mumbling under their breath brought a smile to Alex's full lips. Heh heh.

Alex sighed as she took a seat on a nearby clump of reddish dirt. Thankfully, there was some sort of a soil base in this world, even if it was a peculiar one. Then again, she had known there would be at least some manner of soil and plant life down here from the moment John's readings had ascertained the air was breathable. Sustainable oxygen levels couldn't have been emitted without those two things in place. At least not by any means known to her and the crew.

"So that's what happened," Alex concluded, her eyes finding the Amazon's. Her gaze absently flicked over the female's bared b.r.e.a.s.t.s before returning to her face. "I thought about making up a story to try and appease you, but what's the point? Either you will believe me or you won't. The particulars don't matter."

The Amazon wore her trademark frown, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Alex bit into her lip, wondering what the other woman was thinking. She knew the story of the Methuselah would sound incredulous to her-perhaps too incredulous-had their roles here been reversed.

"Well?" Alex quietly asked.

"Well," Fija said cautiously, "let us just say I will jump to no conclusions and will reserve judgment for another place and time."

Alex frowned. "I guess that's the most I can ask for," she muttered.

The Amazon looked amused. She stood up and nodded. "Yes, little warrior, it is."

Alex sighed as she surged to her feet. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Fija ignored her. "A bit of advice if you desire it."

Alex quirked an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Tell no other Takuri your tale. Not yet. It sounds...err...well, let us just say not many are so open-minded as me."

"Takuri?" Alex asked, puzzled.

Fija scanned her gaze. "You don't know what a-?" She blinked. "That's right. You're one hundred million years old," she said drolly. "Older even than the dead prophets. How could I forget."

Alex's jaw clenched. "I am not lying," she bit out. She rubbed her temples, weariness from the last several hours at last getting to her. "Never mind. What is a Takuri?"

"A rebel, little warrior," Fija murmured. "A human."

"A rebel," Alex whispered. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Care to enlighten me on what we humans are rebelling against?" She prayed it wasn't who-or what-she thought.

Fija sighed like a martyr. "If your tale is true, I must say I find it aggravating to converse with a one hundred million year old female. You behave like a male, a simpleton."

Alex's nostrils flared. "Those are fighting words, sister."

Fija threw her head back and laughed. "You are so short I need only pick you up by the scruff of the neck and hold you away from my body while you throw your fit of temper."

Alex couldn't help but to grin at that mental image. "Shut up," she said half-heartedly.

Fija's lighthearted smile turned into a serious expression. "We fight the Xandi, little warrior. They are evolved of the predator people. Our natural-born enemy."

A chill of awareness slowly trickled down Alex's spine. "I trust you'll debrief me more on these...things...as our trek to your camp continues?"

The Amazon's eyes narrowed appreciatively. "Things. A good word. Or demons. And yes, I will debrief you. But the night comes upon us soon, so for now we must go."

A certain deja vu knotted in Alex's belly at Fija's use of the word demon. Now why did that trigger a memory?

"But first we needs get you changed into attire befitting a warrior that we might continue on our journey." She frowned. "You look as solemn and weak as a Priestess of the Temple wearing that pitiful frock."

That snagged Alex's attention. She frowned back. "What sort of attire are you-oh no!" she said, shaking her head. "No way am I walking around like you half-naked!"

Fija grunted. "You are strange to me."

"Strange but clothed!"

The Amazon shook her head. "Survival in this world is for the strongest of women and the males they offer their protection to. Do you think any will take you serious, so short as you are, when you can't even dress the part of a warrior?"

"Fija..." Alex said on a sigh.

"I cannot understand this modesty of body, but wear the body-plate of a warrior if it makes you feel less...whatever."

"Body-plate?" Alex asked hesitantly.

"It's what we wear in battle. A body shield." Fija snorted and shook her head. "The women of the clans will be curious as to why you have donned the dress of a female headed to battle. Then again, maybe such a ferocious appearance will make up for your small stature."

Alex grunted at that. She'd take what she could get. "All right. Fine," she relented, realizing she didn't have much of a choice. "I'll take the body-plate."

The Amazon inclined her head. "Wait here while I fetch one you can borrow." She began to walk from the cavern, then stopped abruptly and c.o.c.ked her head to face Alex. "One more thing, little warrior."

"Yes?"

"When we come into contact with other Takuri, tell none of them your tale. Or your name."

Alex's eyebrows drew together curiously. "Okay. But why?"

Fija smiled without humor. "Because like as not they will accuse you of heresy and offer you to the xandor beast as sacrifice to the G.o.ds."

Alex blinked. She wasn't following the thread of the conversation. Nor did she know what a xandor beast was. "I don't understand..."

"You claim to be a woman foretold by the prophets."

"I never claimed-"

"Claiming as much is akin to claiming to be one of the very G.o.ds."

Alex's nostrils flared. "I said I never claimed-"

"Yes. You do," Fija said softly. "Tell them your name is Alex and tell them no more."

Alex sighed. "Or they'll kill me?"